Unless you've the skill of an O. Henry, it's pretty ridiculous to talk about the spirit of a city, even as a generalization. But when that "spirit" takes human form and joins the local police force, really it's too much! Whatever induced scriptwriter Steve Fisher to introduce this bizarrely extraneous element into his otherwise tight little tale of the seamier side of Chicago, it was a mistake.

Fortunately, the assignment was handed to John H. Auer, who was most definitely the class director of the Republic stable. The action scenes here are handled with his usual vigorous finesse and there's plenty of excitement. The movie was actually lensed on location in Chicago, the city's streets made forcefully real by John Russell's deft photography.

Gig Young registers okay as the hero, while Chill Wills is saddled with the "spirit". However there are top performances by seasoned players like Edward Arnold, Marie Windsor, William Talman, Paula Raymond, and Wally Cassell as the mechanical man. Mala Powers is suitably cast as "Angel Face".

"City That Never Sleeps" is one of the strangest film noir movies I have seen--mostly because there is a real surreal aspect to the story that you just don't find in other noir pictures. I don't want to tell you more about this...suffice to say that one of the characters is VERY unusual and you learn just how unusual at the close of the movie.

Gig Young plays Johnny Kelly, a disaffected cop who is very unhappy in his marriage and is contemplating running off with his mistress, a stripper, and quitting his job on the force. When you see and hear why Johnny is unhappy, you do feel a bit sorry for him, as his evil mother-in-law lives with them and CONSTANTLY harangues him about his wife earning more than him! Instead of belting the old broad in the mouth (definitely a noir way of handling it) he plans on just leaving...for good. But before he does this he has one more night on the job...and a very eventful night it is. While there is MUCH more to the story and a plot involving William Talman who plays an amazingly cold and vicious killer, I think it's best you just see the film for yourself.

The big reveal at the end will determine whether you like this film or not...see the picture and see what I mean. I'd like to say more...but again, just see it for yourself. And, if you want to see it, it's currently up on YouTube.

When not doing B westerns with singing and even non-singing cowboys Republic Pictures occasionally did a top drawer item like this one. It's the tale of a rather disillusioned young uniform cop ready to chuck it all, job and family to run away with a stripper and in doing it get a big payoff in the process.

Gig Young just might have gotten the finest acting role in his career in City That Never Sleeps as a motor car officer whose our protagonist. From shady lawyer Edward Arnold he gets a real proposition. On this last night on the force before he resigns he's asked to pick up William Talman who's done a few special ops for Arnold and take him from Chicago across border to Indiana where he's wanted. The idea is Talman is getting too big for his britches and Arnold wants to cool him off and enforce a bit of discipline.

Talman too gets one of his great career roles as a diabolically clever and sociopathic hood. He turns the tables on Arnold in all kinds of ways setting up tragedy that makes him a most wanted and hunted man in Chicago. A far cry from that honest but feckless representative of law and order Hamilton Burger.

Besides those mentioned this is a beautifully and impeccably cast noir film with people like Paula Raymond as Young's wife, Mala Powers as the stripper, Otto Hulett as Young's policeman dad and Marie Windsor in one of her great bad girl roles as Arnold's wife.

I must also single out Wally Cassell who is in a geek like role as a pantomiming mechanical man in front of the strip joint where Powers works. She's prepared to leave him, but a lot happens to her on this night of nights. Her scene with Cassell doing his mime routine is beautifully played with Cassell so touching beneath the silver mime paint job expressing so much with his face as Powers talks to him. There's also a real element of unknown danger for him in this scene as well.

It's not often one sees Chill Wills in an urban setting. I'm thinking he must have relished getting away from westerns for a change. He's the rather mysterious sergeant who rides with Young on this night. It's left to the viewer to figure out exactly who and what he is and I think you can watch City That Never Sleeps again and again and come up with a different answer.

Republic Studios which did not do urban noir dramas as a rule comes up with a real winner here.